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Upanishads : " The Cream of Vedas"
Vedanta ( Veda +anta i.e; the end of Vedas ) as the literal meaning connotes comprises the philosophical portion of Vedas, called the Upanishads.
Of about 280 Upanishads unearthed so far, 108 have been accepted as authorised texts , and out of them have been commented upon by great Acharyas lika Sri Sankaracharya , Sri Ramanjacharya, Sri Madhavacharya and thus are classified as major.

ISAVASYA UPANISHAD :or VAJASANEYI SAMHITA UPANISHAD Mantram -1.Discussion : 14. "Whose is the wealth?... who is to covet and what?" ....Swami Sri Adi Sankaracharya goes a step further and interprets the last quarter of the Mantram to mean, as an exclamation from the Rish-s : "Whose is the wealth?"By this question he implies that there is no wealth which belongs to anybody and that there is nothing in the universe which can permanently remain with us; we ourselves are passing; the world of objects is also ephemeral, and in this eternal change, who is to covet and what?Thus, he laughs at the very idea of desiring anything in the world, since there is nothing in the universe which deserves our desiring.The very first mantram of this inimitable Upanishad is in itself a miniature philosophical textbook, complete with its philosophical en…

ISAVASYA UPANISHAD :or VAJASANEYI SAMHITA UPANISHAD Mantram -1.Discussion - 13. "Do not covet the wealth of another." .....The very first mantram, there is therefore, not only a statement of Truth and its amplifications, but a definiten method of realisation is also pointed out.Even this much would have been sufficient to raise the Mantram to the pinnacles of a literary perfection and philosophical beauty unparalled in any language; but this is not at all.To crown the entire effort, as it were, here within the same Mantram, the Rishi has also hinted at, how much a Perfect One will live thereafter and how a seeker in his pilgrimage should try to live.As an injunction to the seekers and as a description of the mental attitude of the Perfect One, we have the statement in the last quarter of the Mantram : "Do not covet the wealth of a…

Discussion- 12. "dhana" ..... ( charity )The 'Puranic' ideal of charity ( dhanam ) also can be read into this phrase "tyaktena bhunjithah."Giving is the true enjoyment of wealth.Make wealth as much as you can by right means, and hold on to it as a trustee.Give it away intelligently to patronise right causes.... .......thus enjoy.Covet not wealth, nor hoard it to lie idle.For, whose is the wealth?It belongs to the community, and it must go back.Yours shall be the enjoyment ....... of making it, of distributing it back to the deserving individuals or institutions.Just to show how Samskrtam commentators have used their ingenuity to milk out of the Mantram more and more meaning, here mentioned how "Tena tyaktena bhunjithah" has been interpreted as "Tena tyak…

ISAVASYA UPANISHAD :or VAJASANEYI SAMHITA UPANISHAD Mantram -1.Discussion - 11. "bhunjithah" ...( second line of the Mantram ) ...Enjoy ( bhunjithah ) ---- The root 'Bhuj' means 'to enjoy' and also 'to save'.Sri Swami Adi Sankaracharya Bhagavatpada takes the latter meaning and interprets it to mean 'saving one's Self'.According to Swamiji, therefore, the meaning would be the way to protect one's Self and enjoy Its glory lies in the renunciation of attachments for the not-Self ( Anatma ).The 'Seer' of the 'Upanishad', however, by avoiding the mention of the 'objects' to be enjoyed, probably means both: At a lower level, 'enjoy' what is given by Him, without covetousness, attachment etc,; and at the greater heights, the student in meditation is told to renounce the perceptions, feeling and t…

ISAVASYA UPANISHAD :or VAJASANEYI SAMHITA UPANISHAD Mantram -1.Discussion -10. "Where is the wealth" ( kasya svit dhanam ) ...All wealth belongs to Him ( Lord ) alone --- the Infinite alone is the Reality.It is the core in all forms; it pervades everything within.And it envelopes everything.The world is like an iceberg floating on water.Water, frozen and floating on water --- it is nothing but water.Since everything is His ( Lord's ), whatever that is permitted by Him, take it as His, and live in this attitude of dedication and gratituse which id the way to true enjoyment.'Tena' can also mean ' therefore'.

Discussion-9. "That renounced" ( tena tyaktena -- first two words in the beginning of second line of the Mantram) ....." envelops all this " ( Isa vasyam idagm sarvam --- in the beginning of the Mantram ..."That renounced" ( tena tyaktena ) :- - This is the effective part, the technique to experience the Lord that "envelops all this" ( Isa vasyam idagm sarvam).Identified with the beauty of sculpture, many a time, we fail to notice the material with which it is made.Very rarely are you recognising the paper on which these words are printed.You are seeing the ideas through the word-meanings, and not the colour of the white paper.And yet, you know that these printed words are impossible to read if the paper were black in colour!To see the colour of the …

ISAVASYA UPANISHAD :or VAJASANEYI SAMHITA UPANISHAD Mantram -1.Discussion - 8. 'matter' .. 'ghost vision'When we are told of a paramount 'Power' presiding over the world of 'matter,' the teacher advocates that we must come to experience this great joyous perfection through the renunciation of our false values and attachments which we have cultivated in ourselves in the jungles of our own perceptions.The 'ghost-vision' frightens the deluded one, and his mind gets into a serious state of perplexity and confusion.The only way to pacify him and bring peace and tranquility to his mind is to help him to discover the 'post.'Now, to my friend who is agitated by the vision of the 'ghost,' I and his companions, who are seeing the 'post,' can only advice 'Dear friend! Renounce the form and qualities of …

ISAVASYA UPANISHAD :or VAJASANEYI SAMHITA UPANISHAD Mantram -1. Discussion-7. 'principle of existence' ....."There is a form, there is a taste, there is a sound, there is a smell, and there is a touch for the tree" --- thus we noticed.Devoid of all qualities as interpreted by the sense-organs, there is yet in that tree the "Principle of Existence" as expressed by us unconsciously in our assertion of the Is-ness.This factor, the "Divine Principle of existence but for which none of these impressions are impossible, is generally not noticed because of the perceiver's preoccupation with his perceptions.Beneath the perceptions, as it were, dwells this mighty Spirit of Perfection as a subtle Divine Power, all-pervading and eternal.The Upanishad starts with this Mantram wherein the Rishi advises us that we must come to experience this …